


Never Let Me Down (Just Lead Me Home)

by BabyChapo



Category: Queen of the South (TV)
Genre: AU, Angst and Feels, Best Friends, F/M, FBI partners AU that nobody asked for, Friends to Lovers, Jeresa throwing themselves in front of bullets for eachother, Partners to Lovers, so not far off from reality
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-01
Updated: 2019-08-01
Packaged: 2020-07-28 22:15:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20071459
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BabyChapo/pseuds/BabyChapo
Summary: “Valdez?” Teresa said, her tone irritated. “Are you even listening to me? You were out of line. You broke protocol.”“I don’t know what you want me to say, Teresa,” James says, clenching his jaw before lifting his gaze to collide with hers, “you’re my partner. You had a knife slicing into your carotid. In that moment, do you honestly think I gave a flying fuck about proper protocol?”Or, The one where James and Teresa are just partners in the FBI. Continually putting their lives on the line because they are professionals. Feelings couldn't possibly be involved…Right?





	Never Let Me Down (Just Lead Me Home)

**Author's Note:**

> So I haven’t written in literal years. I apologize if there are any glaring mistakes, I’ve had multiple brain surgeries in the last few years and I often have trouble catching my own mistakes/errors. I have had a few friends who have edited and proofed this for me, so hopefully our combined effort caught all of my errors! I love these characters so much, so this means a lot to me to publish after years of not writing. This will be a multi-chapter monster but as i’ve said, I have several serious chronic illnesses so I can’t promise any kind of timeline, I can promise though that I will put my heart and soul into what I write. This chapter is short, but I usually write 3k+ words a chapter, I just didn't want to overdo it in this first chapter. I voted to keep it simple. Hopefully the story will be worth the wait. Every chapter will be accompanied by a song, because that’s who I am as a person.
> 
> Inspiration for this fic is from the bellarke fic ‘Lose You Too’ by eyessharpweponshot, so if you recognize similarities in storyline, that’s why. I was given permission to use the story as inspiration! I can’t recommend it enough, if you’re into bellarke and haven’t read it??? Well then go so that now! [Lose You Too](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15648807/chapters/36345681)
> 
> Comments and Kudos will keep my creative juices flowing, so they are always appreciated. I truly hope you enjoy!!!!!

Chapter Song**_: _****Basic Instinct****_\- The Acid _ **

* * *

The hotel room is warm and barely lit. Large windows, floor to ceiling, display Las Vegas in all of its artificial glory. James Valdez stands a few feet from his partner, Teresa Mendoza. His blue button up is untucked from his pants, tie hanging loosely around his neck. His badge and gun rest on top of the bedside safe. He slowly bends, retrieving a few mini bottles of shitty alcohol from the minibar. He doesn’t care if it tastes like piss, he just wants something to quiet the gnawing in his stomach. He roughly rips the screw top off of one of the small bottles of whisky, and downs it in one long swig. 

“Damn it, James! What the hell were you thinking? You could have been killed!”

James lets out a sigh, knowing she’s referring to their current case that had come to a head only a few short hours ago. It had been an absolute clusterfuck. Teresa is mid-lecture about the whole ordeal. They've been working side by side, every single day for over two years now. They're _partners_. At this point, Teresa really shouldn’t be surprised that he did what he did. When it comes to his people, James will always choose them first. No matter what’s on the line; his team, his family, will always come first. 

If he has a fault, it’s that he’s loyal to the point of being irrational. Though James is a big enough person to admit that lately, he seems to be abandoning protocol a little more in order to keep the people he loves safe. 

James runs a hand roughly over his face as Teresa continues her lecture, remembering how they had gotten here in the first place. 

* * *

_ Their FBI Intelligence Unit had been requested to assist the local Las Vegas PD on a case that was a little too out of their wheelhouse. They ended up in a standoff with the perp, Alberto Pecas: a slimeball that had fallen onto their radar when he leveled up from moving cocaine, to moving young girls. _

_ Pecas had quickly gotten the drop on Teresa, an arm wound tightly around her with a knife licking the skin of her throat. His smart mouth was cracking one-liners as if he was in a comedy club, but James hadn’t laughed. His rage barely contained under the surface. _

_ The unsub had applied more force to the knife, breaking the skin on Teresa’s neck causing crimson blood to drip down the column of her throat. James’ mind immediately went blank. All danger and all risk vanished in an instant. The woods had fallen silent. The throbbing pulse in his ears drowned out the sounds of Pote yelling through his earpiece to stay put, and Teresa telling him to back down. The sense to assess the situation before acting completely disappeared. He would have had a clear shot at the perp using his glock, but with Teresa in Pecas’ arms, he second guessed his near perfect aim. _

_ With the blood pounding through his veins, he irrationally dove at the perp: knocking Teresa free and tackling the criminal to the ground. Pecas spat curses as him in Spanish as they fought for dominance and ended up tumbling down the embankment. James could faintly hear his partner in the background yelling for their team to move in. Her voice was distant, almost as if he was dreaming. _

_ He landed a few good punches into the unsubs face, his fist throbbing with each blow. James was strong but this perp had a few inches and a good 50 pounds on him, so he struggled to get the upper hand. James had lost his weapon in the fall down the hill, but the unsub grappled for his own laying just a few feet away. His hands grabbed onto it, and then shoved the cold steel barrel into James’ temple. He simply closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable. _

_ He heard a gunshot. _

_ Then two. _

** _Had he been shot? Had the pain just not registered yet? _ **

_ His chest heaved as he struggled for breath until Teresa’s face appeared. She skidded down on her knees next to him, pulling the unsub’s heavy, lifeless body off of him. _

_ “James!” She exclaimed, helping him sit up. “James you’re okay, I’ve got you.” _

_ His head was swimming as he got his bearings. His fingers involuntarily wrapped around teresa’s wrist, keeping her next to him; anchoring him. His eyes flitted to her neck, and his hand reached up automatically, thumb brushing lightly over the shallow cut Pecas left there. He kept his thumb pressed for a beat, for his own comfort, as relief uncoiled in his gut. _

_ The adrenaline finally caught up to him and he jumped to his feet. Teresa looked up at him with a mixture of shock and concern. _

_ “James,” She said quietly, but he had quickly turned on his heel, walking towards the emergency vehicles and black sedans. He felt his partner’s gaze burning into his back but he kept walking. _

_ As he approached the SUV, he caught his reflection in the dark windows, and it was only when he lifted a hand to his blood stained face that he realized how violently his hands were shaking. Before anyone could wrangle him into a debrief or an ambulance, he climbed into the back of the sedan, shutting out the world with a loud slam of the door. _

* * *

“Valdez?” Teresa said, her tone irritated. “Are you even listening to me? You were out of line. You broke protocol.” 

“I don’t know what you want me to say, Teresa,” James says, clenching his jaw before lifting his gaze to collide with hers, “you’re my partner. You had a knife slicing into your carotid. In that moment, do you honestly think I gave a flying _ fuck _ about proper protocol?” James goes for another bottle of cheap whiskey, but Teresa snatches it out of his hand. 

“Pecas had a gun to your head, James. A _ gun _, Goddamn it.” She bellows, throwing the small bottle against the wall, shattering it into a thousand pieces. She points a finger at the amber colored liquor slowly dripping down the wall. “Your brain was 5 seconds away from looking like that.” 

James let out a grunt. He averted his eyes, unwilling to meet her gaze. Instead he focused on the bright city lights behind her. He ran a hand over his beard, considering for a moment but all James can do is shrug a muscled shoulder without remorse. 

“I’d do it again.” 

Teresa lets out an exasperated ‘_ oh my god _’ as she runs her hands through her hair, pulling it slightly at the roots. Her knees hit the back of the bed and she sits, cradling her head in her hands for a moment. 

“I feel like I’m talking in circles.” She mumbled against her hands. 

“You’re not talking in circles,” James says as he moves to the table, grabbing his badge and sliding it in his pocket, “I hear you, I just don’t agree.” 

With a huff, muttering something that sounded a lot like _ ‘cabrón’ _ under her breath, Teresa lets herself fall backwards onto the bed. She watched him stick his gun into the back of his waistband. 

“Is breaking protocol really worth your life?” 

James is halfway to the door when he hears her speak, her voice barely above a whisper and he freezes. 

“Is it worth it?” She echoes.

He doesn’t turn around. He doesn’t look at her because if he does, he’s not sure he could control himself. 

“If it means saving your life, _ Teresa _ ,” he says gruffly, bringing his bruised fingers up to his chest, rubbing the persistent ache there, “then yeah, it’s fucking worth it. It’s _ you _, it will always be worth it.” 

He lets the words hang heavily for a moment between them, before striding out the door, letting it slam behind him with a hollow bang. 


End file.
